Nikola Mirotic had a long and strange career with the Bulls, but it’s finally over.
After Tuesday’s public debacle about a trade that “fell through”, the Bulls and Pelicans came to an official agreement this afternoon. Mirotic and a 2nd-round pick head to New Orleans, and the Bulls get that first round pick they’ve been seeking, along with a player in Omer Asik who could provide some nice depth at center next season (Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen are also in the deal, but both are likely to be dealt ASAP).
For all of the grief that Gar Forman and John Paxson get from the fans and media, credit where credit is due. If the Bulls gave up on Mirotic this offseason after six years in the organization, like so many people (myself included) wanted them to, the Bulls wouldn’t have gotten the valuable asset they got today.
The Bulls took Mirotic with the 23rd pick in the 2011 draft and stashed him overseas for three seasons, watching him blossom into the MVP of one of the most competitive leagues in Europe.
When he came to The Bulls as a 23-year-old rookie in 2014-15, expectations were high. The Bulls needed as much scoring help as they could get to help their core of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol, but Mirotic’s best games came with both Rose and Butler sidelined with injuries, as he led the NBA in 4th quarter scoring in March of his rookie season.
After a streaky rookie season, Mirotic was expected to break out in new coach Fred Hoiberg’s spread out offensive system. He even uprooted fan favorite Joakim Noah in the starting lineup, a move that was not well received.
Still, the shooting was streaky and the results were disappointing. Mirotic got another shot as a starter at the end of last season when the Bulls traded Taj Gibson to the Thunder, but despite the Bulls run to the playoffs, Mirotic did little to inspire confidence that he belonged in the team’s future plans.
Apparently, his performance didn’t inspire much from the league’s other 29 teams, either. Mirotic remained a free agent until training camp before signing a one year deal with the Bulls for $12.5 million, with a club option for a second season at the same cost.
The move reeked of desperation, just another example of Garpax giving one of their pet projects one last chance to show some value, mostly so that they could be proven right. Even though the move worked out, I still think that was their motivation, but hey the NBA is a results-based business and the move panned out in the end.
Despite the Bobby Portis punch and the public humiliation it brought both Mirotic and the organization, despite the no-trade clause that the Bulls gave him, which almost nixed the trade they just completed, despite the newborn riffs between Mirotic’s camp and the organization, the bottom line is this:
He produced, and the Bulls cashed in.
